Join Michael Morpurgo on the 24th of June to teach your class about life in WW1 before the centenary of the Battle of the Somme on July 1st

Morpurgo is an avid advocate of learning about history through storytelling and labels both Private Peaceful and his bestselling War Horse as his anthems for peace. Please do join Michael Morpurgo and encourage your class to reflect on the life of Private Peaceful as he journeys to the Battle of the Somme.

What is it:Real-time diary entries from Private T Peaceful, the narrator from Michael Morpurgo’s bestselling book Private Peaceful, reflecting on his life both before and during the war. Each diary entry (there’s 13 in total) will be uploaded alongside a classroom activity. These are designed in small bite-size chunks to make learning about WW1 more accessible to children ahead of the centenary of the Battle of the Somme on July 1st.

Michael Morpurgo, in partnership with HarperCollins Children’s Books, is hosting a real-time digital event on the 24th of June to encourage children to learn about the realities of living in WW1 in the lead up to the centenary of the Battle of the Somme on July 1st.

The event will consist of thirteen diary entries released online from Pte T Peaceful, Morpurgo’s narrator in his award-winning novel Private Peaceful, reflecting on his life before and during the war. Each diary entry will be accompanied by an activity that teachers can use in the classroom to help students further understand the impacts of WW1. The activities are suitable for children in the high KS2 and low KS3 stages of education.

It has been designed by an educational expert who has considered how modern day children consume information in small bite-size bursts. Thus, the short diary extracts and smaller class activities will encourage learning and enable the subject of WW1 and its impacts to be more accessible to children.

The extracts and activities will then be uploaded in real-time throughout the day. If you can’t join us on the 24th, please note all extracts and activities will be available from the 25th of June onwards.